O LORD, You have searched me and You know me. Psalm 139:1
The human individual, a complicated being, is hard to evaluate. This seems to be especially true of people with artistic temperaments and highly individualized dispositions. A case in point is the Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh. During his stay in Arles, France, he was deemed insane and put into a cell. Once when he wanted to sell some paintings to the deputy mayor, he was told: “Take these to the market-place and get some money for a cup of coffee.” As the 100th anniversary of his death approached, the city did all it could to acquire his paintings.
While human beings are often a puzzle to one another, God reads them like an open book. He searches and understands the heart. He knows all about us – has always known, even before we were born. “You know,” says the psalmist, “when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD” (Psalm 139:2-4).
God knows all our needs, even better than what we do. He is aware of what we need the most, and He has prepared the solution to our greatest problem: sin. God realized that human beings had fallen into sin, death, and Satan. So He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, who did mortal combat, overcame them, and rose from the dead in proof of His victory.
Jesus knew the thoughts of people. “He knew what was in a man” (John 2:25), the Bible says. He is our Good Physician, who understood so complicated a person as Vincent van Gogh. He understands us. To Him we can go in confidence and with joy.
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, You know all my needs, and You have promised to hear me when I pray to You for help. Thank You for Your love and sacrifice so that I may be Yours eternally. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Joshua 1-3 Luke 9:1-17
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